June 23

A Rosenblatt Stadium record crowd of 28,216 saw Carolina take advantage of a rare Cal St.-Fullerton mistake to defeat the pesky Titans 5-3 to stay alive in the College World Series. USC got a bit of revenge, as they had lost to the Titans 2-0 in the first game in Omaha.

With one out in the seventh inning and the game tied 3-3, USC’s Davy Gregg laid down a beautiful bunt. Titans’ pitcher Mike Martinez fielded it, but then threw wildly to first. When the smoke had cleared, Gregg was at third, and the heart of the order was coming up for Carolina. The Gamecocks made them pay, as Steve Tolleson, Steve Pearce and Bryan Triplett followed with singles. Closer Chad Blackwell then took over for Carolina, now holding a 5-3 lead, and pitched three scoreless innings to earn his 20th save of the season. Starter Jason Fletcher earned the victory, allowing five hits and striking out four in his six innings of work.

Carolina would face Cal St.-Fullerton one more time the following day. It would be the third matchup in the CWS between the Gamecocks and Titans. This time, the loser would be eliminated.

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